Sens after 20(ish)

wprager

I am, admittedly, a little late for "Sens after 20". So maybe call this "Sens at the Quarter Pole"? Yes, I know "quarter pole" has nothing to do with being a quarter of the way

If any one has an idea of how to rank the team (what parameters) then go ahead and suggest it. Otherwise, standalone comment on something you see as a difference from last year (good or bad) and maybe a grade.

Even though I predicted they would be second behind the Habs (and pushing for top spot if Price had any injuries) I would say that their current position (2nd in the Division, 4th in the league point-wise) is far ahead of expectations. A+

Powerplay is a huge disappointment, so far. It showed signs in the pre-season and early games, then dropped off the cliff for a dozen games or so. More recently they've actually started scoring a goal here and there but, overall, this has been very disappointing. D, but expecting this one to improve.

Penalty Kill is top-five in the league (was #3 a week ago). Much of it is Anderson (an no Hammond -- he was brutal short-handed) so I give them a B.

Structured defensive play -- other than the middle pairing, the Sens defensive-end play has been a significant improvement over the last season. B. Would have given them a B+ but they are still giving up too many shots on goal (9th worst in the league is better than last year, but still too high).

Offensive play -- not as potent as last year is putting it mildly. Third lowest goals per game. That's a C. Would have given them a D but they keep winning.

Individual performances, the good: Karlsson is not scoring like last year but he has fully embraced the new structured system and that is an A for me. He has shortened his shifts, leads the league in blocked shots, takes a regular shift on the PK and The Flow is back. Turris has been clutch. Stone missed most of camp and was slow getting going, but he appears to be back to the level he played at last year. Just one takeaway from the league lead, with 2 games in hand on the leader, Ondrej Palat. Anderson has been lights out. In light of what's happening with his wife, he is my nominee for the Masterson and the team MVP. Dzingle has slowed down his goal-scoring pace but he continues getting chances. Will he score 20? I still doubt it, but unlee Mac comes back or there is a trade, he is likely to stay in the top six and could definitely get 15+ goals.

Individual performances -- the bad: Hoffman, Smith, Pageau, Ceci, Wideman. While Lazar and Stone have excuses, these others do not. All have not produced at the level expected. Perhaps "bad" is not the best term, here, but these players need to get untracked. Puempel would have been in this list as well, but he got waived. I also have to consider putting Brassard here, as well. But he is adjusting to a new city, coach, team and I give him a slight pass.

Individual performances -- the ugly: Phaneuf, Ryan. Both have shown slight improvements of late. Both are here primarily because of the size of their paycheck but I stand by my assessment.

OK, your turn.

_________________Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I've failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success. - Dicky Fox

PTFlea

I think it's pretty hard to assess individuals right now. Boucher's system took some time to come together, but not it looks like the offense is starting to round into shape (a bit).

The biggest and most notable change from previous years is the Sens willingness to clog to middle of the ice - where the huge chances come from usually. They've created a box down the middle of the ice that makes opponents shoot from outside that box, which is usually a perimeter shot that can be easily handled. Also noticed forwards hanging around to help D-men get rid of the pucks under duress, which wasn't happening as much during MacLean and Cameron eras.

The offense is still a concern, things don't change after 3 solid games (or 2 depending on how you look at it). Their powerplay is still crappy and they look really hesitant to do things that make other teams successful for one reason or another. From time to time, it appears to come together though and you get someone like Stone in front of the net being a pain. That's how you'll score, they know it, we know it, I'm sure it'll start working out better.

The PK is the box down the middle. I like watching them do it, it must be very frustrating to other teams. They clog up the front of the net and Anderson goes down to his knees to look through them, something that must be practiced, I'm sure. That means you're only going to beat Ottawa by firing from the point (which we learned vs Montreal) and through mad scrambles and rebounds that every team has to deal with. It's really an interesting facet of the game (is it Crawford?). Pageau and especially Pyatt and Kelly are so adept at keeping the play to the outside/points and not allowing the puck to go low without coverage. Big thumbs up!

5 on 5 - pretty easy to see how frustrating this would be to play against, because it's frustrating to watch! They clog the neutral zone, they clog the middle of the ice in their zone and they're continuously turning pucks over and moving up ice. They're offensive zone entrances are almost always the same, but I assume that'll change as they get more confident.

Individual performances are hard to assess right now, but one forward (other than the obvious guys like Turris, Stone, Pyatt etc.) who I've been impressed with is Hoffman. I like pretty much everything about his game right now. Slight laziness in the defensive zone sometimes, but not often, really strong on the puck, has become a nice playmaker and still has that great shot.

tim1_2

If you look at Bobby Ryan's last 40 games for Ottawa (going back to last season), he has 4 goals, including none in his last 12 games. So I'd say he's my biggest disappointment this year. But the majority of the team has looked quite good, especially of late. Turris and Stone are rolling, the D looks vastly improved, and is being incredible, as usual.

wprager

kyle turris wrote:I just thought I'd point out that we are currently sitting in the. 5th spot in the entire league... that's pretty amazing!

Much of that is on Anderson and the schedule maker. Teams out of a playoff spot by US Thanksgiving are usually in at the end of the season, but rankings certainly change. So it looks really good for the Sens to be playing in late April.

_________________Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I've failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success. - Dicky Fox

kyle turris

You have to wonder if karlsson didnt find the motivation from doughty winning the Norris this summer and is out to prove doubters wrong. Number 1 in block shots in the league. Dangerous strategy but you can't help but appreciate the effort he's putting in. A third Norris for karlsson?

As for Anderson he's for sure the sens MVP at this point in time. He's the big reason we are where we are. I just hope he can remain in the line-up all season.

The system! All hail the system! I hope the system evolves into a better PP and we see an upsurge in goals.